The Jamie L. Roberts family donated $2.2 million to the College, with a portion of their total donation enabling the College to complete its $2.5 million capital campaign. The completion of the campaign allows the College to utilize more than $75 million in State of Maryland funding. The Jamie L. Roberts family gift is the single largest gift in the history of the College and made in honor of Jamie L. Roberts, a St. Mary’s College class of 2011 economics major and three-sport star athlete who was tragically killed in June 2014 while riding her bicycle across the country in the 4K for Cancer event, which raised money for the Ulman Cancer Fund to support young adults impacted by cancer.

“This day is the culmination of many people coming together to accomplish a goal that will aid both the College and the community,” said Dr. Jordan. “We are honored to have the support of the family of Jamie Roberts, whose generosity helped finish our campaign. Thank you to the Governor and Legislature for this tremendous and transformational opportunity. And, thank you to the record-breaking number of donors – students, employees, parents, community members, and our alumni – whose support is a testament to their dedication and commitment to St. Mary’s College of Maryland.”

Chairman of the Board of Trustees Sven Holmes also thanked the Governor and Legislature: “State funds of more than $75 million will enable St. Mary’s College to significantly enhance programs, not only with the addition of the athletic stadium, but also with the completion of a new academic building. The project in its entirety will aid our students and provide cultural and economic benefits to the community as a whole.”

Upon completion, the 4,200-square-foot lighted stadium, including team rooms, a track, bleachers, press box, restrooms and concessions, will be situated between synthetic and grass fields on Mattapany Road. The capital campaign also supports the completion of a new 52,289-square-foot academic building to house the College’s music department, a 700-seat auditorium, educational studies department, which includes the Master of Arts in Teaching program, and a multi-discipline learning commons area. The entire project is to be completed by 2022.

St. Mary’s College began raising funds for the capital campaign in earnest in January 2015. By April 2016, $1.5 million of the goal had been reached. By June 30, the campaign goal was reached through a portion of the Jamie L. Roberts family gift.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland, designated the Maryland state honors college in 1992, is ranked one of the best public liberal arts schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Approximately 1,800 students attend the college, nestled on the St. Mary’s River in Southern Maryland.

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“We are deeply appreciative of the Roberts family commitment,” said President Urgo. “St. Mary’s College of Maryland has a historic mission to make an academically rigorous program affordable. The Roberts’ generosity is mission-centered and serves as a tremendous example of the type of public-private partnerships we seek.”

Bob and Eveline Roberts, who reside in Rockville, Md., are parents of Jamie Roberts, graduate of the St. Mary’s College class of 2011 with a degree in economics and a minor in math. Jamie received the Presidential Merit Award each of her four years at St. Mary’s, and was selected as the college’s 2011 Female Athlete of the Year for her participation on the varsity soccer, basketball, and lacrosse teams. The Roberts supported the college’s Emergency Assistance Fund during Jamie’s tenure on campus. The fund benefitted students struggling with extreme financial difficulties as a result of the 2008 economic downturn. The Roberts and numerous other donors made it possible for hundreds of students to remain in college.

“I am pleased we are able to assist St. Mary’s in its quest to reach out to excellent students who would otherwise not be able to afford the unique experience at St. Mary’s,” said Bob Roberts. Eveline Roberts added, “This gift to St. Mary’s will enable numerous students to have the educational and athletic opportunities our daughter Jamie had.”

“A St. Mary’s liberal arts education prepares its students for future success in a rapidly changing and interconnected world,” said Pat Goldsmith, dean of admissions. “An investment in our students is also an investment in our graduates who, like Jamie, will make a positive impact on every community in which they live and work.” Jamie is fulfilling her passion by working as an assistant basketball coach at Catholic University.

The Roberts family commitment is part of a comprehensive initiative by St. Mary’s College to attract new resources for student financial aid and academic programs. In addition to the Roberts’ commitment, a member of the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Board of Trustees, who chooses to remain anonymous, recently committed $250,000 in support of faculty curricular innovation. These funds are designed to assist faculty members as they develop innovative courses and academic programs, and to provide funding for faculty professional development and research opportunities.

Dean of Faculty Beth Rushing commented, “We are so grateful to this board member, whose dedication to the mission of the college will allow us to continually improve our teaching and research enterprises. This faculty support enhances the College’s ability to provide the best possible educational experience for St. Mary’s College students.”

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Creating Baltimore City Scholarships

With your help, I’d like to make St. Mary’s College one that others strive to support, attracted to a vision that has captured our imaginations: I think of it as elite egalitarianism – an elite education that is not elitist, but one accessible by standards of intellectual, not financial, capacity. – Joseph Urgo

Determined to preserve and enhance St. Mary’s College of Maryland as a public trust, President Joseph Urgo has embarked on a mission to ensure that the College remains accessible to any student who is up to the academic challenge. In order to fully realize its promise as a premier public liberal arts education – affordable to all, thriving on diversity, with high standards of academic excellence – the College must increase the philanthropic support it receives.

For students who are ready for the College’s academic rigor, St. Mary’s is an inviting and welcoming environment. The College’s small, residential campus – an enrollment of 2,000 and a student to faculty ratio of 12:1 – necessitates an intimate living and learning experience that has proven to be advantageous to first-generation college students who are the first in their families to navigate higher education. The College serves and graduates students at the same rate regardless of their socioeconomic background and financial need. One of the College’s priorities, and strengths, is our outreach to Baltimore City, a city that has a greater minority population with lower median family incomes and educational attainment than Baltimore County and Maryland[1]. The College has formed partnerships, with CollegeBound for example, and created programs to enhance opportunities for underrepresented students: the DeSousa-Brent Scholars program cultivates students’ academic and leadership potential and the Emerging Scholars program provides intensive curriculum support to students in the sciences.

The College is not only working hard to recruit and retain talented students from Baltimore City, but also is developing relationships with leaders to secure philanthropic commitments to provide scholarships for students with few financial resources. In August 2011, the France-Merrick Foundation approved a challenge grant in the amount of $100,000 that is contingent on the College raising $400,000 to support students from Baltimore City. The France-Merrick Challenge is a call to action, a call to those who understand the intrinsic value of giving and the importance of making such investment decisions, a call to transform the lives of academically proficient students who are unable to pay the full cost of tuition.

Support for Baltimore City students will contribute to the end of the cycle of deficient education that afflicts too many families in America, and which weakens the competitiveness of our workforce. A gift designated to the Baltimore City Scholarship Initiative will provide access to the St. Mary’s experience and a benefit to the greater community as St. Mary’s graduates return to Baltimore City to live and work.

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Established in 2012 by the Garners to benefit graduates of St. Mary’s Ryken High School who have financial need.

$1 Million Alumnus Gift to St. Mary’s College to Provide Need-Based Scholarships for Students in St. Mary’s County Region Scholarship to Strengthen Partnership between St. Mary’s College and St. Mary’s Ryken High School.

(St. Mary’s City, MD) February 20, 2012—St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s President Joseph R. Urgo announces the receipt of a one million dollar gift from philanthropists Joe and Kathy Garner. The Joseph and Kathleen Garner Endowed Scholarship Fund will provide tuition and supplementary co-curricular support to academically talented, financially challenged students attending St. Mary’s College, with a preference for St. Mary’s Ryken High School graduates.

Joe Garner graduated from St. Mary’s College in 1974 and from Ryken High School (now St. Mary’s Ryken High School) in 1966. Kathy Garner graduated from the University of Maryland and served as a teacher in the St. Mary’s County region. Joe benefitted from an internship as an undergraduate before going on to a successful career at Booz Allen Hamilton, and both he and Kathy understand the value of experiencing other cultures. Thus, the Garners designed the award to also include internship and study-abroad opportunities.

“St. Mary’s College of Maryland has an historic mission to make affordable an academically rigorous program to all students, particularly those with limited financial means,” said President Urgo. “The Garner donation ensures full participation in the liberal arts experience by providing scholarship recipients the opportunity to attend St. Mary’s College and to learn beyond the boundaries of the classroom. It also acknowledges the synergy between our two institutions, building on student academic success at St. Mary’s Ryken High School. The Garner gift as well emphasizes the commitment of St. Mary’s College to the students and families of Southern Maryland.”

St. Mary’s College of Maryland, designated the Maryland state honors college in 1992, is ranked one of the best public liberal arts schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. More than 2,000 students attend the college, nestled on the St. Mary’s River in Southern Maryland. St. Mary’s Ryken High School, located on an 87-acre campus on Breton Bay in St. Mary’s County, is a coeducational, secondary school sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers. The high school is a Catholic college preparatory school.

“Our students are graduating into a world that is increasingly global, diverse and changing,” said St. Mary’s Ryken President Mary Joy Hurlburt. “A St. Mary’s Ryken education gives them the values, character and abilities they need as they go on to college, build careers and families, and become leaders in society. An education from St. Mary’s College and the study abroad program will continue to grow the passion students have to make a difference and the commitment to give back to their communities. Joe and Kathy Garner are shining examples of respect for and service to St. Mary’s County.”

The Garners, who were long-time residents of St. Mary’s County before relocating to Florida, were pleased to have the opportunity to offer such an educational award to well-deserving students. “I am excited about the opportunity to link two outstanding St. Mary’s County institutions through our scholarship program. This scholarship will pave the way for some of St. Mary’s County’s best and brightest students to deepen their roots in the community through their St. Mary’s College experience and eventually contribute to the growth and vitality of the community that has meant so much to my family and me,” said Joe Garner. Kathy Garner added, “We intentionally established our scholarship to provide students with a complete experience, void of the need for supplemental loans, so that their education and the experiences that support it, are their focus. We cannot wait to see the differences it will make.”

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Spring semester 2012 was marked by the tremendous support for academics by longtime community partner, The Patuxent Partnership (TPP). In May, TPP invested $1 million to grow and expand the physics department, including applied physics, at the College. The Patuxent Partnership is a local nonprofit organization that works with government, industry, and academia on initiatives in science and technology.

Bonnie Green ’74, executive director of The Patuxent Partnership, has been a strong advocate for developing this initiative as a way of fulfilling St. Mary’s promise as the state’s honors college, and addressing the region’s need for scientifically trained professionals. Green said, “The Partnership’s mission is to support STEM education, the Navy and the contractor community, and to foster related research opportunities. This investment will develop and strengthen the knowledge base in our region while strengthening the relationship between St. Mary’s College of Maryland, the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, and applied physics research.” The funds will be used to develop curriculum, increase the number of physics majors, hire a new faculty member, expand labs, and develop new co-operative and internship programs.

“The leadership commitment from Green, TPP’s Board of Directors, and Karen Garner ’82, board of directors president, is emblematic of our institutional priorities: embracing our public mission and academic rigor, meeting the immediate needs that are central to our faculty and liberal arts curriculum, and providing transformative opportunities for students,” said Maureen Silva, vice president for advancement. “The mutual benefit that stems from sharing talent and resources will have a huge impact on the region as well.”

St. Mary’s College is fortunate to have a long, successful and growing relationship with the Department of Defense community, and continues to benefit from these collaborative ties. For example, the Computer Science Co-Operative Education Program, established in 1996, engages outstanding students in computer science studies and summer work experiences. Also, Dr. Chuck Alder, professor of physics, and Dr. Josh Grossman, associate professor of physics, work closely with Dr. Frank Narducci, their colleague at NAWCAD, on research in atomic physics for developing sensor technologies with anti-submarine warfare applications and secure quantum communication technologies; St. Mary’s students participate in and contribute to this collaboration in a variety of ways. Since 2003, 19 physics students have completed summer internships with the NAWCAD research lab, and 20 physics students have conducted cutting-edge research in the lab for their St. Mary’s Projects. A proponent of STEM education and outreach, Dr. Narducci – whose daughter, Victoria, is studying at St. Mary’s – has been instrumental in exposing St. Mary’s students to state-of-the-art resources, research projects, mentoring, internships, and professional development opportunities as well as articulating the impact of an applied physics program at St.Mary’s.

In addition to these partnerships, St. Mary’s College developed other programs that aim to recruit and retain STEM students, including the Women in Science House (WiSH) and the Emerging Scholars Program which are both designed to boost numbers in STEM disciplines with attention to under-represented groups. As a result, 25% of St. Mary’s students are pursuing a degree in STEM at any given time.

TPP’s investment in the physics department will nearly double the number of physics graduates to twelve, which would propel the College to the top 5% of four-year colleges in the United States. “Most college physics programs are geared to students who will go on to graduate study in physics, and ignore that over half of all graduates, in fact, do not,” said Adler. “According to a study by the American Physical Society, one of the key elements of successful physics programs is diversity.” Offering such a rare opportunity for students to concentrate in applied physics while exploring different disciplines and achieving competency in the fundamental liberal arts skills will give students problem solving skills, as well as excellent writing and oral communication skills, on top of their technical training.

With The Patuxent Partnership’s $1 million investment – and the signing of the Educational Partnership Agreement between the College, NAWCAD and The Patuxent Partnership in October 2011 – the College is poised to develop and become one of the few undergraduate liberal arts colleges in the country with an applied physics program. “Our students tend to be multi-talented and multi-interested, and approach problems with creativity and passion,” said Pat Goldsmith, dean of admissions. “The admissions staff has been working with the physics department throughout the summer to identify dedicated, innovative prospective students interested in pursuing STEM majors in the context of a liberal arts education. The applied physics major gives us a unique niche in the marketplace, and we are excited to see the talented students this program will attract.”

A learning atmosphere that is enriched by a variety of experiences and perspectives ensures that our students are well-prepared as they go out into the world. Significant investments in the College help St. Mary’s to recruit and retain students and faculty, and to sustain a prolific environment for learning. According to President Joe Urgo, “We are grateful for The Patuxent Partnership’s investment that so directly supports the public mission and academic rigor of St. Mary’s College of Maryland. The establishment of an applied physics program will provide new and unique opportunities for our campus, and a gateway to a world in need of individuals who have cultivated their capacity to think, to discern, and to respond to issues with creativity and passion.”

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